1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to washing machines and more particularly to an improved water supply safety valve system.
2. Prior Art
Every year the insurance industry, as well as consumers, spend hundreds of millions of dollars repairing damage caused by ruptured or leaking washing machine water supply lines. These machines often are located in areas not frequently attended and thus the problem of a broken line can go unnoticed for considerable periods of time. There are other appliances that require water supplies for example a dishwasher to which the invention is applicable but the water leakage problem is less likely because of being located in a high traffic area and thus early detection unless of course the occupants are absent for long periods of time.
Water supply line shut off valves known to employ conventional control devices are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,263 granted Jul. 21, 1998 to G. Isacson Jr; U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,715 granted Oct. 22, 1996 to H. Griffin; U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,175 granted Apr. 2, 1996 to P. Ravilious; U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,037 granted Apr. 25, 1995 to J. Wheeler; U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,224 granted Mar. 19, 1991 to W. Olsen Jr; U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,049 granted Oct. 31, 1989 to P. Fornasaari; U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,534 granted Mar. 31, 1987 to S. Chung-Shan; U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,435 granted May 20, 1986 to D. Aldrich; U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,190 granted Apr. 29, 1975 to G. Boss; U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,403 granted Apr. 1, 1975 to W. Fischer; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,199 granted Nov. 26, 1974 to A. Stone.
The foregoing references, along with the references listed as having been cited against the same, gives some indication of the numerous proposals made to solve the potential flooding problem.
The majority of the foregoing patented devices are fairly sophisticated devices that are complex and thus expensive to manufacture and/or require specialized installers. One of the simpler devices from an installation point of view is disclosed in the above U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,199 in that the automatic shut off unit is simply attached to the water supply faucet and the appliance hose is then connected to such unit. Internally the device has slidable pistons requiring accuracy in manufacturing and thus is somewhat costly from that point of view.
The foregoing U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,403 utilizes two solenoid operated valves i.e. one for cold water and one for hot water but they are mounted on a common housing and thus if one fails the entire unit must be replaced rather than just the faulty solenoid valve.
Moreover, because there are numerous washer installations that have never had a problem and therefore there is a reluctance to install flood preventing devices unless they are relatively inexpensive to buy, simple to install and easily and inexpensively repaired should that become necessary.
These prior art devices typically provide a supply of water to the appliance whereby once the washer or other appliance is activated the shut-off valve remains open for the entire duration of the wash cycle or use cycle. Contrary to the teachings of the prior art, the instant invention controls the flow of water to the appliance, whereby the timer starts over with each cycle, for instance a washer typically may use two (2) eight minute cycles, thereby preventing a flood in case the hose line to the appliance is damaged during the fill cycle.
The present invention is a kit comprising an individual solenoid actuated valve for each water supply line for the appliance at hand, (i.e. two for an automatic washing machine and one for a dishwasher or ice maker), that connects in series with the water supply line(s) and a water supply line hose(s) for the appliance, a control unit that plugs into an electrical supply outlet in the vicinity of the appliance and has a first electrical outlet at the voltage of the supply outlet for connecting thereto the appliance power supply cord and a second electrical timer controlled outlet of lower voltage and means to connect the second outlet to the solenoid of the solenoid actuated valves. A control board in the control unit senses current flow to the washer when the latter is turned on and actuates the solenoid valves to open the same for each of the wash and rinse cycles. A timer circuit allows water to flow freely for a selected period of time. When the circuit times out the solenoid valves close preventing further water flow. The system is simple, easy to install and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and should a solenoid valve fail only the affected one needs to be replaced.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is equipped with two electric solenoid valves that install on the incoming hot and cold water inlet valves. The washing machine hoses are then installed on the solenoid valves. Each valve is connected to a 12 volt control board by means of a two conductor control cord. The control board senses electrical current flow to the washing machine when it is being used. It then sends a signal to the solenoid valves to open. This allows water, for a set period of time, to flow to the washing machine. When the circuit times out, the solenoid valves close even though the washing machine may still be calling for water. Such an event may be when a water hose were to rupture not allowing the float valve in the washing machine or other appliance to stop the flow of water in its normal amount of time; or if the float valve were to malfunction. Flooding would result from either condition. In the present invention upon the circuit timing out, the valves would then stay closed until the next time the defective line to the appliance was repair and used. The instant invention virtually eliminates water damage repair problems in homes, apartments, condos, or the like due to appliance hose bursts or leaks.
More particularly, an appliance safety valve assembly, comprising, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a solenoid controlled normally closed single valve unit having an inlet coupling and an outlet coupling. A control unit that plugs into a conventional household 110V AC power supply female outlet has a first female outlet thereon at the power supply voltage and into which the power supply cord for the washing machine can be plugged. The control unit has therein a circuit that includes a count down timer, a voltage step-down device selectively providing a low voltage output of less than 15 volts and means sensing current flow to the first power outlet. The low voltage output is activated in response to current flow to the first outlet detected by the current flow sensing means and deactivated by the count down timer. Means connecting the low voltage output to terminals of a coil portion of the solenoid of the valve unit are designed to open the normally closed valve upon detected current flow and close the same upon a preselected time lapse.
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic water shut-off valve system that is simple to install, relatively inexpensive to manufacture as well as repair should that become necessary.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic timed shut off.
It is another object of the present invention to be utilized in a wet environment to allow for a simple, easy, quick, installation of the kit without special tools or hardwiring or hard piping to the water and electrical sources.
It is another object of the present invention to utilize a voltage in compliance with UL listings of 15 volts or less for wet environment and preferably 12 volts.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a means to install the appliance safety valve assembly whereby the valves can be exposed for easy access due to the design incorporating low voltage actuators of less than 15 volts for safety.
It is another object of the present invention for the control unit to record the last fault code to make technical service and repair simple and inexpensive.
It is another object of the present invention to be able to replace the transformer with a step down switch.
It is another object of the present invention to develop a shut off safety valve which may be utilized with any model appliance.